Assessing the affordance, equity and wellbeing implications of mobility provision, governance and operation in East African cities

Introduction Delivering enhanced inclusive and safe mobility choices addresses many elements of the inclusive city concept. Urban mobility is a key factor supporting health and wellbeing and is linked to infrastructure quality, governance, and individuals’ behaviours particularly in the context of dynamic rapidly changing cities. This paper investigates from a multidisciplinary perspective how the quality of urban environments interacts with mobility, health and wellbeing. Setting Addressing recent calls for African mobility research focussed on socio-economic equity this paper presents mixed methods research from low-income communities in two Kenyan cities. Methods Using combinations of participatory mapping, transect walks, subjective and physiological wellbeing measurements alongside recording of environmental conditions we consider the interactions of mobility on health and wellbeing for vulnerable travellers typically excluded from mobility planning considerations. We assess our findings in relation to a new framework combining dimensions of mobility, wellbeing and inclusion. This framework incorporates elements of physical infrastructure provision; mobility systems and governance; and the influence of other user behaviour. Results Our findings highlight how focussing on infrastructure provision and not overall journey experiences could result in investments that do not support healthy mobility choices. Collecting better (spatially explicit) environmental measurements and diverse wellbeing data would enable decision makers to understand existing environments more holistically to identify the most appropriate mobility investments. Overall, the framework and results forefront how inclusive and equitable mobility solutions that actively support people’s health and wellbeing should go beyond provision of adequate and safe infrastructure. They should include user awareness and behaviour changes that are effectively governed ensuring the benefits of any improvements are not undermined thereby risking exposing travellers to more dangerous pollution or hazardous road safety environments.